The Argentinian city of Buenos Aires expects to welcome 340,000 tourists in the first quarter of this year, which represents an increase of 0.3% over the same period in 2013. The Tourism Authority of the city also estimated that the visitors should spend about USD 270 million on lodging, meals, gifts and trips in Buenos Aires.
The city is a popular destination for leisure holiday especially for Brazilians, Chileans and Uruguayans.
"We expect more international visitors thanks to the campaigns we organized particularly in Brazil, Chile, Peru, Paraguay and Uruguay. Thanks to the proximity of these countries these tourists are the ones who respond the best and quite fast," said the president of the secretariat of tourism, Fernando de Andreis.
In 2013, 65% of visitors coming to the Argentinian capital were from Latin America. Brazilian tourists accounted for 31% of the total while the second place was taken by Chileans with 10 percent.
United States, Canada and Europe accounted for 29% of foreign tourists in 2013. 64% of all travelers who came to Buenos Aires for their vacation stayed only in the city, which represents 1,226,918 travelers. 20% of visitors included not only the capital in their tour itinerary but also other destinations in Argentina. The remaining 16% of tourists coming from abroad did not go to Buenos Aires at all.
The average length of stay of travelers who visited the city from January to October 2013 was 9.1 nights. The average daily expenditure of tourists over the same period was USD 96.7.
Remarkably, Brazilians and Uruguayans spent the most when shopping – they spent USD158.5 and USD132.7 respectively. Tourists from the rest of America and Europe on the other hand had below the average daily expenditure – USD82.8 and USD56.5 respectively.